Elemental Girls Book 3 - Life Of Tsunami
by RocketRaccoon4ever
Summary: After discovering that Courtney's brain cancer will kill her unless treated immediately, The Guardians of the Galaxy and Harmony make a deal with The Sovereign. Meanwhile Inferno, Electric Storm, and Earthquake are being held captive on Earth after a mission failure.
1. What Happened On Earth

**What Happened On Earth**

"I really thought this was a good idea."

"Yeah well now we know not to listen to you when you say you have a 'really good idea'."

"Be quiet or else they'll find us!" Nebula snapped at Titanium and Electric Storm. The two elementals had not stopped arguing the whole trip to Terra. Not for a second. Now Nebula was stuck crawling in the sewers underneath a Terran museum at night with them waiting for Earthquake and Inferno to disable the alarms. The trio had been waiting for almost 5 minutes and already Nebula had restrained herself from snapping necks.

"I'm just saying," Titanium continued. "I truly thought that their scanners wouldn't find us under here."

"Yeah well next time check to make sure there aren't any camera blind spots we could wait in before you shove us under here to be cramped for an hour!" Electric Storm glared at Titanium.

"It's not going to take Inferno and Earthquake an hour to get us inside." Titanium countered. "They're faster then that."

Nebula scoffed. "Not if they get caught."

Titanium glared at her. "They won't get caught. Those two are great sneaks. Plus Inferno can turn human since she isn't fused. That's an extra disguise built right in!"

"I still think Hijinx is being unfair by not fusing her." Electric Storm huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted like a little kid. "What is this, Favor The Elemental That Ran Away Day?"

"Technically Inferno never ran, it was the fire sprite." Nebula corrected. "Inferno is the one who came back." She turned to Electric Storm. "Hijinx does not want to fuse Inferno because he wants to study her powers more. If her brain chemicals helped her bypass her weakness and increase her control, then just imagine how he could do that to the rest of you."

"We'd be invincible." Titanium whispered.

"Yeah well invincibility doesn't make up for stupidity." Electric Storm murmured.

Titanium growled at Electric Storm. "I'm not stupid!"

"You are so stupid I bet cavemen had better IQ's!"

"Yeah well dinosaurs have more common sense then you!"

"My common sense is better than half the people in the lab so check your facts scrapyard."

"Scrapyard! How dare you, you walking lightning rod!"

"I control and create electricity. Lightning rods don't do that."

"You are so infuriating!"

"You're the one getting mad. Not my fault scrap has a short temper."

Nebula whirled on them both. "Oh will you just SHUT UP!" Both elementals froze mid fight and stared at Nebula as she struggled to contain her rage. _Deep breaths, deep breaths._ Nebula reminded herself as the red in her vision slowly faded.

"Sorry." Both girls apologized. Nebula gave them a warning glance before turning away and reveling in the silence. None of them spoke for a long time as they patiently waited for some sort of sign that Inferno and Earthquake had successfully taken down the security. The sounds of the night filled their ears and a cool breeze swept by them and through the tunnel. Nothing stirred inside or outside. The world seemed to have paused.

Suddenly a flicker of warmth burst through the tunnel. Nebula glanced up as her sensors detected the temperature change. "What was that?" She asked. Neither Titanium nor Electric Storm had noticed. Then it came again, but this time it was longer and the orange of the flame lit up the steel walls. "That's the signal." Nebula jumped up and tore off towards the flame. Electric Storm and Titanium were right behind her.

Nebula stopped underneath an opening in the roof. There, perched on the opening, was Inferno. Her flames danced around her like servants performing to a goddess. Inferno cocked her head in a motion for Nebula and the others to come out. Electric Storm pushed ahead of Nebula and grabbed the grimy ladder on the wall to hoist herself through the opening.

Something seemed off though. Inferno was wringing her hands around in a circle and tapping her foot against the ground rhythmically. The fire element was never this jittery. Nebula watched closer and noticed how Inferno's eyes kept glancing to the other side of the hole in quick rapid looks. Almost like she was watching something or someone that was trying to hide. Nebula put her hand on the ceiling and used her sensors to scan for heat sources.

"Electric Storm wait." Nebula called. She could feel them standing there, waiting for them. Their heat signatures weren't elemental. They were Terran. Terrans were up there waiting for them. "It's a trap." Nebula whispered.

Inferno looked at Nebula suddenly. "That's impossible! Do you really think I'd lure you into a trap? You should know by now how loyal I am! I've never changed sides in my life, doesn't that atone for some credibility?" Inferno locked eyes on Nebula harshly.

Nebula understood. Inferno was trying to tell them that something had gone wrong. The Terrans were onto them and somehow her and Earthquake had gotten caught. Inferno was pretty smart to figure out a semblance of a code to inform them. Electric Storm didn't seem to be getting it.

"Stop being paranoid Nebula." She continued going up the ladder.

Inferno bent down closer to Electric Storm. "We need to always trust each other."

Electric Storm rolled her eyes and pushed Inferno out of the way to climb up through the hole. "I don't see what you guys are so concerned about. There's nothing up-" Electric Storm's words turned into a scream as the sound of gunfire started. The elementals body dropped onto the soil and Inferno ducked down. Nebula grabbed Titanium and they both took off running back down the tunnel.

"What's going on?" Titanium shouted as the sound of fire and electricity sounded from up above.

Nebula forced herself not to look back as she heard Inferno's cry of pain. "We're being attacked." She answered and the two kept running until the sound of fighting died behind them. They stopped to catch their breath and it was only then that Nebula realized they were out of light, and lost.

"Where are we?" Titanium asked. It was so dark Nebula couldn't even see her.

"I'm not sure." Nebula replied. She reached out to feel the cold walls and tried to find some sort of pulse that could lead them above ground. All she could feel was water that was dripping down from the ceiling. Nebula sighed. It was useless. She had no way of finding how to get back up to the surface. "We're lost." She told Titanium. The two just stood in the dark silence for a few minutes. Both unsure what to do next and unable to contact anyone.

"I really did think this was a good idea."

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

"Stay where you are or all of you are gonna get blown to bits." A fierce looking guard with full riot gear on stood in front of Inferno, Earthquake, and an injured Electric Storm. All three elementals were cuffed by thick padded cuffs to the cement wall. There was a total of ten other guards in the room and they all had various weapons that Inferno didn't remember humans having previously. She didn't even know if these guys were humans! They had helmets that covered all of their faces and bodysuits that hid all distinguishing features.

"We couldn't find the other two." A group of three guards spoke as they entered to make thirteen total armored assailants in the room. Inferno was mapping out a plan of attack to take them all out when suddenly a needle was shoved into her neck by one of the guards. Similar needles were inserted into Earthquake and Electric Storm. Inferno felt her energy being sapped almost instantaneously. The fire around her slowly decreased as her ability to control and maintain it decreased. Her vision was blurry and fuzzy, like she was on some sort of drug. The room seemed to spin as her hearing became distorted. The background noises were heightened; like the clacking of shoes or the rustle of air; while the prominent noises were muffled; like the guard's voices.

"What'd you do to us?" She slurred. Inferno heard her own voice but it was barely recognizable. Drawn out, deeper, slower, almost like she was underwater. Inferno shook her head to try and clear it but all she got was a bought of nausea.

The guards laughed. Their voices sounded like crackling fire. Inferno tried to pull up some of her fire power, but all she got was an empty longing. Her fire was gone, suppressed and locked away, and she couldn't even feel it there anymore.

"Those three won't be any harm to us." One of the soldiers' voices rose up to Inferno's ear but she couldn't identify which one said it. It seemed like the words floated to her ears from every direction. Almost like everyone in the room was talking at once. She tried to fight through the haze but colors were starting to blur into each other and trying to make sense of it all gave her a headache. Whatever drug was running trough her veins, it was tough and it had effectively taken her down.

The soldiers footsteps echoed in her ears as they all left the room. The lights were turned up till the glare engulfed what was left of Inferno's sight, and she felt the cuffs tighten around her limbs. Inferno hung her head in shame at having been captured and left all the old feelings of doubt and self hatred overwhelm the last of her senses. The solid door slid shut on the Elemental's bright steel prison, leaving them to suffer in their drug induced loneliness.


	2. Awesome Battle Scene 1

**Awesome Battle Scene #1**

"Get ready everyone." Peter Quill stood in the center of a circular platform watching readings on some kind of alien scanner. Gamora was holding a giant gun, Drax was looking fierce, Rocket was tinkering, Groot was playing with some alien creatures, and Harmony was practicing with her wind. They were ready for a fight. "It's coming through that wormhole any minute."

"Which will be it's doom." Gamora stated as she powered up the gun. Peter looked at the giant machine with shock.

"I thought you used a sword?" He asked.

Gamora glanced at him skeptically. "We're about to fight an intergalactic monster that's trying to eat those batteries, and you think I'm going to stop it with a sword?"

"Well it's just that swords were your thing and guns were mine, but I guess we're both doing guns now. I just didn't know that." Gamora rolled her eyes.

"Drax, why aren't you wearing one of Rocket's aeropods?" Gamora asked. Drax was standing in the corner and the only teammate not wearing one of Rocket's specially made armor chest plates. Even Harmony had one on for when she was in human form!

Drax glanced at Gamora. "They hurt. I have sensitive nipples." He mumbled. Rocket burst out laughing.

"Ow my nipples hurt!" He laughed and mocked Drax.

"Well what are you doing that's so important?" Drax motioned to the sound system he was building.

"It's for Quill so we can listen to tunes while we work." Rocket explained.

"How is that important to be working on now?"

"I don't know! Ask Quill! He's the one who loves music so much!"

"No, I agree with Drax." Peter interjected. "That's not important right now."

Rocket smirked. "Yeah Quill. Okay." He snickered.

"I'm serious Rocket. I agree with Drax."

"Yeah of course you do." Rocket winked at Quill.

"I can clearly see you winking!" Drax exclaimed.

"Dang it. I'm using my left eye?" Rocket asked.

"Will you guys shut up!' Harmony shouted.

The three guys whirled on her. "Why?" They asked.

She pointed up at the sky. "Probably because that giant space monster is coming out of the sky to eat these batteries right about now!"

Up in the sky a giant alien creature with a mouth full of teeth and about five tentacles was falling from a wormhole to the ground. It landed in front of the Guardians with a roar. "Raaaa!" Drax shouted as he charged the creature. Rocket activated the stereo system as the rest of the team took off towards the creature. Baby Groot danced around on the platform to the music as the creature spit out multicolored flames from it's mouth.

Harmony turned into the wind sprite and flew up towards the monster's mouth. She used her wind to force it's mouth up and away from the other's as they began to mercilessly shoot at its neck and chest.

"The beast's skin is impenetrable from the outside." Drax said to Gamora. "I must go in from the inside." He took off running towards the creature.

"Wait Drax no!" Gamora shouted. It was too late. Drax leaped into the air and into the monster's ferocious mouth. Peter took off his mask and stared in shock.

"What is he doing!?" He yelled to Gamora.

"He said that the skin is too tough on the outside so he'd have to go in from the inside!" She yelled back.

"That's insane! The skin is the same thickness on the inside and the outside!" Peter replied.

"I know that!" Gamora shouted. "But I didn't get to tell him!"

Peter glanced up at the monster who was unfazed both by Drax inside it and by Rocket and Harmony attacking it's head. Then Peter noticed something on the monster's neck. "There's a cut on it's neck." he said to Gamora. "Rocket, Harmony, get it to look up!" Then Peter was off and the three were shooting and yelling at the monster to get it's attention.

Gamora tried to aim the gun for the wound but couldn't get a steady shot. She discarded the gun and took out her sword. With a running leap Gamora jumped off the monster's tentacle and dug her knife into the wound. With a spray of yellow goo the monster's neck split open and it collapsed dead on the platform. Drax emerged from the wound with a victorious yell.

"I have vanquished the beast!" He shouted while raising his arms above his head. Groot chucked a piece of metal at his head. "What was that for?" Drax asked. Groot ignored him.

The Guardians left the monster's body and went to check on the prize they had defended, Anulax Batteries. "What are these things?" Harmony asked as she observed the small orange capsules.

"Those are Anulax batteries." Peter explained. "The Sovereign use them as a power source, and they're worth quite a few units on the black market."

"I have heard many a time that Harbulary batteries were sold on the market." Drax replied. Peter gave him a weird look.

"That is nothing like what I just said." Drax just shrugged off Peter's comment.

"I don't care whose selling who what. As long as this gets us the medicine needed for Courtney then I'm good." Harmony replied.

Ever since Alexi had joined Hijinx, Nebula, and the other Elementals the team moral had been low. It had been continually dropping as Courtney was slowly failing in every organ. The brain cancer was winning over her immune system and the only way to help her was to get medicine from the Sovereign. That was if they were even willing to give it up at all. The Sovereign are a closely guarded species that keeps to themselves, and keeps their secrets closer. This top notch medicine was something the whole Universe was after, and the Guardians would have to pull some kind of miracle to ensure that they got it

"Let's head back." Peter said to the group. The Guardians boarded the Milano and went back to Sovereign headquarters. The palace that High Priestess Ayesha lived in was completely gold, much like the Sovereign themselves. They are a xenophobic race of creatures genetically engineered to be perfect. Kinda dull in Harmony's opinion. Plus all that gold was an eyesore after awhile.

"We'd like to thank you Guardians for your help." High Priestess Ayesha spoke from her throne. "We could not possible send our own into battle and endanger the lives of our people."

"Happy to help High Priestess." Peter replied.

"Every member of our race is perfectly engineered to be without flaw. The community helps to create each individual through careful DNA selection in our birthing pods." High Priestess Ayesha explained.

"I may be old fashioned but I prefer the more natural way of creating people." Peter smiled.

Ayesha smirked. "Well maybe you could give me a history lesson sometime."

Peter flushed. "Well um, yeah I mean, i-if that's what you um, I.." He trailed off as Gamora shot him a look while High Priestess Ayesha just smirked.

"Enough talk." Gamora stepped forward. "We did what you asked. Now give us what we asked for." Ayesha stared at Gamora for a second before motioning to one of her gold guards along the side. The Guardians were presented with a small vial filled with some sort of creamy liquid.

"Here is the medicine you wanted." Ayesha announced. "Simply inject it into the human girl's veins and she shall be better soon."

Harmony quickly snatched the vial from the guard and cradled it like it was the most precious thing in the universe. "Thank you High Priestess." She whispered. Then Harmony turned and rushed out the door to the ship. Peter gave a nod of appreciation as the rest of the Guardians turned to follow her.

"Peter Quill." Ayesha's voice stopped him. "Who is your father?" She asked.

Peter turned to her. "I'm not sure. Just another human like my mom I guess."

Ayesha glared at him. "I see it within you. An unorthodox genealogy. One that seems particularly...reckless."

Peter held her gaze for a few tense seconds. "Well I guess we'll have to see." Then he turned and followed Gamora out to the Milano. Rocket and Drax came up close behind.

"You know, they told me that you guys were conceded douche-bags." Rocket spoke up. "But that's not true at all!" He grinned and winked at Peter as the rest of the Guardians froze. "What?" Rocket asked as the Sovereign citizens and servants along the sides stiffened. "Am I using my wrong eye again?" Peter quickly grabbed Rocket and pulled him away while Ayesha glared at him from behind.

"What were you thinking?" Drax asked with anger as he came up alongside Rocket. "They could've killed you."

"I'll say!" Rocket snickered and opened up his backpack. Inside glowed four Anulax batteries. "Want to buy some batteries?" Drax burst out laughing as Rocket grinned like a maniac.

The Guardians boarded their ship and took off towards Xandar. Gamora locked the medicine inside the storage unit down below for safe keeping. Groot was dancing to Peter's music and Harmony was staring out the window.

"You okay?" Peter asked Harmony. She nodded. "Are you sure?" He asked again. "Because you don't seem like you're okay."

Harmony sighed. "I'm just worried about Courtney. I mean what if this medicine doesn't work? Or what if we're too late and she's already dead? Or what if she got worse and we need more medicine but the Sovereign doesn't have anymore?" She took a breath. "Sorry, I just get anxiety when my friends are in trouble." Harmony paused. "I'm still not over Alexi leaving."

Peter nodded. "I understand Harmony. It can be tough when someone you thought you could trust betrays you." He put his hand on her arm. "This medicine will work and Courtney will get better. We're in the clear now."

All of a sudden the dashboard beeped and a video image popped up. "What's this?" Peter asked. Behind the Milano dozens of Sovereign ships appeared in golden blasts.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Rocket stole their batteries." Drax spoke up.

"Dude!" Rocket shouted from the copilot seat. "That was private!"

Drax quickly averted his eyes. "Sorry. There's no batteries. I have no idea why they're here."

Peter gave an exasperated cry. "Why would you steal the batteries?" He shouted.

"Because they pissed me off and I am teaching them a lesson in manners!" Rocket shouted.

"Well I don't think they understand that!" Peter shouted as the Sovereign started shooting at the Milano.

"Hold on everybody!" Peter shouted as he put the Milano into hyper-speed and Rocket drew the weapons. "We're going into another fight!"

* * *

 **I'm so very sorry for not updating since Thanksgiving. I got sidetracked by another writing project but now I'm ready to continue this story! Hopefully you enjoy this beginning. I'm trying to stick to the movie script as much as possible. I don't know how well I'm doing cause I haven't watched the movie in awhile. (Probably should do that...) Anyway, hope you all had a great holiday season and a happy 2018!**


	3. Awesome Battle Scene 2

**Awesome Battle Scene #2**

"You know, the amount of trouble we get into because of you is not only unthinkable, but also highly unnecessary!" Harmony glared at Rocket as the Sovereign rained a barrage of lasers of the Milano and its occupants.

"Oh shut up!" Rocket shouted back as he opened fire back on the Sovereign. "HAHAHAHAA!" He screamed as their golden ships exploded in small bursts of fire. "Blam! You're dead! Blam! Now you're dead!"

Gamora looked at Rocket who was having way too much fun. "You do know that you aren't killing anyone right? There's nobody in those ships. The Sovereign don't use their own people to fight. They control everything via remote control flying mechanics on their planet."

Rocket paused. "Just gotta suck the joy out of everything don't you." He continued firing back at the Sovereign but this time without as much enthusiasm.

"We need to get out of their line of fire!" Peter shouted as he swerved the Milano around to dodge the spray of weapons. "Is there a jump anywhere?" He asked Gamora. She quickly pulled up a scanner and looked.

"There's one 20 clicks away," She announced. "But it's through that asteroid field." Gamora pointed to a large patch of condensed gravity and asteroids.

"Here we go!" Peter shouted as he steered towards it.

"Quill, you'd need to be the best pilot in the universe to make it through there alive," Drax said in shock at Peter's antics.

"Luckily for us," Peter said.

"I am." Rocket grinned as he took control of the Milano and started piloting through the field. Behind them the Sovereign ships blew up as their crashed into asteroid after asteroid.

"Yo dude!" Peter shouted as he took control of the Milano once more. "This is my ship! I fly it!" Rocket glared at Peter as more Sovereign ships exploded behind them. Rocket suddenly grabbed the controls back from Peter.

"I was flying ships before you were even born" Rocket snarled as asteroids flew past the Milano. Gamora rolled her eyes as Peter took the controls back again.

"My ship! I fly it! I know this baby inside and out!" Peter shouted. Rocket grabbed the controls back. Peter glared at him and the two started a war of taking the controls back and forth.

"Watch out!" Gamora shouted. Rocket and Peter looked up in time for an asteroid to smash into the side of the Milano. Flames erupted on the left wing as chunks of metal flew off into space. Almost all of the Sovereign ships had blown up, except one. One lone ship was still following them and shooting relentlessly.

"We need to get rid of that spaceship!" Harmony called as the Milano narrowly avoided another hit. Drax grinned and started down below the Milano. He grabbed a spacesuit and attached it to himself. He then wound a cable from the wall around him and took a large gun off the wall. Drax opened the latch on the back of the Milano and flew off behind the ship and into space. The cable kept him from going off into an asteroid. Peter saw Drax on one of the cameras.

"What is he doing?" Peter shouted as Drax raised his gun towards the Soveriegn ship.

"Die spaceship!" Drax roared as he fired at the swerving craft. The ship blew up as Drax cheered. Peter took the controls back again from a stunned Rocket and piloted them out of the asteroid field.

"How much farther to the jump?" Peter shouted at Gamora. The other Guardians were trying to quell the flames as the Milano shook.

"Only ten clicks!" Gamora shouted as she started for the underside of the Milano. Suddenly a swarm of Sovereign ships appeared. They all were rapidly firing on the Milano.

"What the hell!" Harmony shouted as the windows cracked and more flames danced across the ship.

"They must've gone around the field!" Peter exclaimed in horror. All the ships were fired on the Milano at warp speed. Drax out back was trying to be reeled in by Gamora. Rocket glanced worriedly upwards as more and more golden ships filled the sky. Suddenly a large glowing light appeared and all the Sovereign ships exploded in a a dazzling display of fire!

"What the hell?" Rocket asked. Peter zoomed forward quickly towards the jump point. Rocket glanced out the window at the small white pod with a small man on top waving at him. Rocket cocked his head to the side as the white pod zoomed off and the Milano burst through the jump point.

Peter struggled to control the Milano as the damaged engine and wings caught on fire. "We're going down guys!" Peter yelled. He looked out the back to see Drax still flying around while being held onto by Gamora. "He's still out there!?" Peter exclaimed in shock. Drax was hitting off of every other tree as the wire swing him back and forth behind the crashing Milano. Peter groaned in exasperation as the Milano continued to decline closer to the ground.

"Groot put your seat belt on!" Harmony called to the little tree sitting in the seat behind her. "Everybody hang on! This might hurt!" Suddenly Harmony whirled up into her wind sprite form. Her limbs spiraled into currents of wind and her hair became a flying tornado. Harmony spun herself out through one of the Milano's shattered windows with a screech of wind on metal. Her arms rose into the air and all the wind in the sky seemed to alter its course towards the Milano. Harmony screeched with the power of a thousand Terran eagles as the wind lifted the Milano up and away from the trees. Using her voice as a guide and the wind as a shield Harmony guided the Milano to an open valley and gently set it down in the middle. A groan was heard as Drax fell from the sky and hit the ground with a _thump!_ Gamora dropped the wire that she had been holding on to to help Drax. Peter, Rocket, and Groot sat back in their seats with a relieved sigh. The Milano creaked and groaned as the metal settled on the ground.

Drax sat up off the ground and started laughing. "Hahaha! That was amazing! Let's do it again!" He cheered. Gamora rolled her eyes and went to help unwind him from the wire. Peter climbed out of the crushed side and surveyed his ship.

"This looks bad." He mumbled as the Milano creaked some more as the metal shuddered into place. Harmony whirled down and changed back into her human form.

Gamora ran up to the group with Drax behind her. "Look at this!" She exclaimed as she pointed at the destroyed Milano. She looked at Peter and Rocket. "Either one of you could've gotten us through that asteroid field if you had been steering with what's between your ears instead of what's between your legs."

Peter and Rocket exchanged a glance. "If what's between my legs had a hand I could've landed this ship easily." Peter whispered to Drax. Gamora rolled her eyes in exasperation and shook her head.

"I could've landed this ship even better." Rocket grumbled.

"I've been flying this thing ever since I was a kid!" Peter turned to Rocket and put his hand on the Milano's wing. "I know how she works and how to fly her properly."

Rocket snickered. "I've been flying ships more advanced than this since before you were born!" He snarled.

"I think the more important question is how the heck those Sovereign ships blew up." Harmony interjected. "I mean, they just exploded without warning!"

"There was a pod that went by," Rocket stated. "With a little man on top. About this big" He held up his hand with his fingers about an inch apart. Gamora looked at him skeptically.

"A little one inch man saved us?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

Rocket shook his head. "Well I'm sure if he got closer he'd be much bigger."

"That's how eyesight works you stupid raccoon!" Peter shouted in exasperation.

"Don't call me a raccoon!" Rocket snarled as his fur bristled.

Peter sighed. "I'm sorry. I took it too far. I meant trash panda."

Rocket looked at him in confusion. "Is that better?" He asked.

Drax shrugged. Peter grinned at him. "It's worse." He snickered. "it's so much worse!"

"You!" Rocket snarled as he jumped at Peter. Peter flinched backwards as Drax stepped out of the way and Gamora rolled her eyes. Harmony just hung her head as the destroyed Milano rattled beside them.

"We are so screwed."


	4. A New Ally

**A New Ally**

MEANWHILE, ON EARTH...

"Do you think they're dead? What if they're dead? If they're dead then Hijinx will kill us both! This is all my fault! I should've stopped Electric Storm from leaving the sewer! Now they're probably dead! Yep, definitely dead. Terrans are monsters! They'll kill them in the name of science with no regard to the consequences! Why did we have to come to this planet? Why? Now we have to go back without an Infinity Stone, and without three of our best elementals! Hijinx was so hopeful in making a breakthrough to our true potential using Inferno. Now we lost her just as quick as we got her back! I can't believe this happened! Nebula? Nebula did you hear me? What are we gonna do?"

Nebula smacked her hand over Titanium's mouth in anger as her other hand grabbed her electric baton from her belt. "One more word out of you and I'll extract your larynx from your throat." She hissed lowly. Titanium nodded hesitantly as Nebula removed her hand. Her baton remained out in warning. The two continued down the slimy sewer pipes in silence, except for the clicking of heels on metal. The sound was calming to Nebula somehow and it cleared her brain of what her and Titanium had just witnessed: Inferno and Electric Storm taken by Terrans. Earthquake most likely had already been caught. Nebula felt a sense of responsibility for what had happened. Inferno had tried to clue them in as to what had happened. Nebula hadn't caught on fast enough and the result was the loss of three warriors. She wasn't used to her brain taking so long to operate. It was almost as though her internal parts were slowing down. Nebula made a note to ask Thanos for an examination when she returned to Sanctuary. That was if she was even able to get off this planet at all.

Titanium was a bundle of nerves, nothing like the calm and collected fighter that had been presented to Thanos months earlier. She had presented herself to be fearless, confident, and courageous. In reality she was still all of those thing but she was also anxious and a little paranoid. Nebula had noticed that most of the experiments in Hijinx's lab had two different personalities. The one they presented to the lab, the universe, and potential buyers. Then there was the one they hid. The personality that they had only when alone in each other's company. It was like they were hiding behind masks all the time. The thought was almost saddening.

The thought was so saddening the Nebula ran headfirst into the end of the sewer. "Ow!" She cried out as the metal wall and her head banged together. Titanium choked back a laugh. Nebula rubbed her head and looked around at their surroundings. It seemed as though they had reached a dead end. "We should double back and take a different route." Nebula said. Her voice echoed loudly inside the small chamber.

"The last fork was about a mile back." Titanium noted. "At the pace we're going it'll take us another hour to get back. We need to focus on getting out and finding the others."

Nebula sighed. "Well no shit sherlock. That's the plan, yes, but in order to get out we need to find a route that doesn't end in a dead end."

"Well did you look up?" Titanium pointed upwards. Nebula craned her head back to see small bits of light filtering in from up above. There was a discolored metallic disk above them with small holes in it.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Nebula asked as she leapt up and hooked her fingers in the holes.

"I thought you had noticed." Titanium responded as she watched Nebula's swinging legs.

"Well I obviously didn't." Nebula snarked as she twisted the metal plate up and off the opening. Cool air rushed down on them both and Nebula breathed in fresh air for the first time in hours. She had forgotten how badly she needed a reprieve from the rusty downdrafts of the underground system. With ease she kicked her legs up through the hole and landed gracefully on the pavement. Moonlight from the clear sky filtered down on her as yellowish lights from high poles flickered around her. It was almost calming. Like the silence had wrapped itself around her on this lonely Terran road.

A thud sounded from behind Nebula as Titanium climbed out of the hole and her metallic body landed ungracefully on the pavement. A small cracked indentation was left where Titanium had hit. "Wow." She breathed, mystified by her surroundings. "It's incredible." She sighed.

"It's nothing." Nebula noted. She stepped off the road and into the grass along the sides. It crinkled and bristled beneath her feet. "It's not beautiful but yet it is." Nebula whispered. She craned her head back to stare at the abyss of space above her head. Wispy clouds floated by amid distant stars that glowed with more power than what was imaginable. "On Sanctuary everything is so cold and tense. Nothing is ever happy. It's all bloodshed and training. We're inside most of the time. I've grown used to looking up and seeing gray walls instead of the sky." Nebula laughed. "Even when I left, my mission was more important than marveling at what was around me." Her voice turned solemn. "It seemed wherever I went things turned from beauty to coldness. I never could leave a planet unscathed."

Titanium knelt down to run her metallic covered hand through the clumps of patchy leaves that covered the ground. They were brown and hard but the ones still clinging to the trees were filled with colors. Titanium couldn't remember the last time she saw colors that bold. "On Hijinx's planet we're allowed to go out and explore." She said calmly. "There's nothing to see. Just craters, sand, dirt, and a rotting corpse or two. After the war with Thanos that destroyed the planet nothing has regrown. There's no nature, no animals, and certainly no other people. Just us in our sparkling lab. The atmosphere is so thick with gas we can't even see the sky." Titanium glanced around. "This place may not be the best in the universe when it comes to beauty, but it is indeed a wonder to our eyes."

Nebula nodded. How true it was. She hadn't even realized how much she needed to see nature. The sounds, the smells, the sights. It was a symphony that Nebula had been yearning for her whole life. Just as she was starting to relax with the gentle buzzing of the wildlife in the background a screeching wail of rubber on pavement reached her ears. Titanium cringed as bright lights lit up in front of them. A hulking machine of metal came to a stop in front of them. Blinding lights bore down on them and the calmness around them shattered. Winged creatures took off into the skies as the soft breeze was filled with pebbles that the machine had kicked up. Dust clouded around them and choked out the light from above. Titanium shielded her eyes from the glare as the machine puffed out black smog from behind.

"What is that?" Nebula grumbled.

"I think it's a truck." Titanium mumbled. Nebula glanced at her. Titanium shrugged. "I don't know. That just feels like the right name. I'm not sure how I know it though." Nebula nodded. She had heard of Terrans driving cars; small and sleek pieces of metal. This hulking beast though was not something she had been informed of Terrans having. Both jumped as the side of the machine opened and out stepped a confused looking Terran.

The Terran shined a smaller light at the both of them and made a weird gasping noise. Nebula walked towards the creature to see what it was doing but suddenly the Terran whipped out a small black object and pointed it at Nebula. "S-stay back!" The Terran yelled. Nebula stopped moving and slowly backed up and away from the shaking creature.

"We're not here to hurt you!" Titanium called. The light in the Terran's hand swung towards her and so did the black object. Nebula tried to make out what it could be from the shadow but came up empty. Whatever it was, this Terran thought it could protect them.

"Wh-who are you?" The Terran called out shakily. "What are you doing here?"

"My name is Titanium." Titanium responded. "This is my friend Nebula." She inclined her head towards Nebula. "We aren't here to cause you harm. We're looking for our friends; Earthquake, Electric Storm, and Inferno. They were captured earlier." Titanium stepped closer to the Terran. "Do you think you can help us?"

The Terran glanced warily between the two of them. Almost as if it were weighing which decision was best. Both Titanium and Nebula looked equally terrifying in the shadowy haze, and both looked extremely powerful. Just as Nebula was getting ready to electric baton the silent Terran, a voice broke the silence. Well, less of a voice and more of a whistle.

A line of red swirled across Nebula's vision as what appeared to be an arrow launched itself out of the darkness and struck down the confused Terran in front of them. Titanium jumped backwards as the piece of deadly metal swung past her and back into the depths of the forest. "What was that?" She asked.

"Not what. Who." Nebula grumbled. She darted into the forest. It was nearly pitch black but all Nebula had to do was follow the shrieking whistle of the arrow's owner. The red trail the arrow left behind rushed past trees, bushes, and other foliage. Nebula kept close to it. Titanium clunked and clanged behind her. Eventually Nebula found herself standing in front of a large, brightly lit ship, and one happy looking blue alien standing in front of it. The arrow went calmly back into the hilt on the alien''s hip.

"Hey there! Long time no see!" He chirped in his raspy voice.

Nebula sighed as Titanium banged her way out of the forest. This was simultaneously the last and only person she wanted to see right now. "Why hello to you too Yondu."


	5. Peter's Father And Rocket's Plan

**Peter's Father And Rocket's Plan**

"Hey guys," Rocket called. "That spaceship followed us!"

What ship?" Gamora asked. "The one with the one-inch man on it?"

"Yeah that one!" Rocket agreed. The Guardians looked away from the wreakage of the Milano to view the white oval orb that was slowly descending towards them. After a graceful landing on the ground the front of the pod opened up. A tall man with bushy grey hair and a beard stood next to a thin girl with antennae on her head. He was decked out in royal robes while she wore a green and black suit. His hands were clapsed behind his back and his chin jutted out while her hands were folded in front of her. His grin portrayed arrogance and narcissism while her dark eyes were locked entirely on the ground.

The man stared directly at Peter with a small smile on his face. "After all these years I've finally found you."

"Who are you?" Peter asked as he stepped in front of the other Guardians.

The man cocked his head to the side. "I thought my rugged good looks might give me away," He remarked. "My name is Ego, and I'm your dad Peter."

* * *

"And so Yondu kept you. I have no clue as to why." The Guardians of the Galaxy with Ego and his helper Mantis were sitting around a makeshift campfire that Rocket and Harmony had spun up. Dinner was served and Ego was telling about how he had been searching for Peter for years.

"I thought Yondu was your father?" Drax interrupted.

"Wait what!" Peter turned to Drax. "All this time together and you thought Yondu was my actual blood relative?"

Drxa shrugged. "You look exactly alike."

"One's blue!" Rocket exclaimed in shock.

"I'm confused," Harmony asked. "Who is Yondu?"

"Crazy Centauri alien who kidnapped Quill from Terra years ago," Rocket explained. Harmony nodded.

"How did you find us now?" Gamora asked matter-of-factly.

Ego nodded. "Well even where I reside out past the edge of what is known we've heard tales of the great Star-Lord and his rogue gang of Guardians of the Galaxy." Ego turned to Peter. "You should come out to my planet. Right away. There I can explain your very special heritage. I can be the father I've always wanted to be." He stood up. "Now if you don't mind I need to go take a whiz." With that Ego disappeared into the woods.

"Peter, a word," Gamora inclined her head and soon the two were off. This left Rocket, Drax, Mantis, Harmony, and Groot alone.

Drax looked at Mantis who was contorting her mouth upwards. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Smiling," She replied. "I heard it is how you get people to like you."

"Not when you do it like that," Drax grumbled before going back to his food. Mantis turned from him and attempted another smile at Harmony.

"You're hair is so pretty," She said. "May I touch it?" Harmony froze for a second but nodded gently. Mantis reached forward and stroked her hand through Harmony's curled hair. Then Mantis noticed Rocket who was cleaning his paws. She gasped. "May I pet your puppy?" She asked excitedly. Harmony went to correct her but Drax butted in.

"Of course!" He said happily. Harmony causually moved away from Rocket as Mantis reached down and rubbed between his ears. Rocket whirled around and snapped at Mantis's hand. She jumped back with a small yelp of fear. Drax burst into laughter as Rocket glared at the two of them.

"That is called a practical joke!" Drax explained in between laughs. Mantis started laughing too and soon the two were howling together at the little scene. Harmony rolled her eyes and hoped Gamora and Peter came back soon.

After a few minutes of awkward silence between the group Peter and Gamora returned with Ego. "We've decided," Peter began, "that we're going to go to Ego's planet."

"What about the ship?" Rocket asked.

"What about getting the medicine to Courtney?!" Harmony exclaimed.

"Relax," Peter said, "Rocket, Groot, and Harmony are going to stay here to fix the ship. Gamora, Drax and I will be back from Ego's planet before you're done and there will be plenty of time to get the medicine to Courtney."

Rocket nodded but Harmony still looked nervous. Peter couldn't blame her but right now this was their best option. Maybe the team needed to spend some time apart to clear the air. "We leave in the morning," Peter announced.

* * *

The next morning Peter and Gamora were packed with minimal items and some extra supplies. Meanwhile Drax was decked out in three heavy duty bags.

"Why do your have so much luggage?" Gamora asked him.

"I don't want Rocket to play with my things," Drax grumbled. Rocket glared at him from where he was fixing some wiring on the Milano.

Rocket looked up as Peter walked by. "Hope your daddy ain't as big a dick as you are Quill." Peter ignored him and left Rocket to sulk in peace.

As half of the Guardians loaded onto Ego's ship and disappeared into the sky Rocket dropped his tools.

"What are you doing?" Harmony asked.

"I'm not going to sit here for a few days and fix Quill's mess of a ship while he's off going down memory lane with some random dude he just met." Rocket ran to get some items from his room. Harmony followed him.

"Well what are we going to do instead?" She asked. "Courtney needs this medicine!"

Rocket smiled at her. "I know. I also know a guy who lives in a village a few miles away that can get us a small ship. We take that to Knowhere and use the transporter there to get back to Xandar. After we give Courtney her medicine we take a starship back here to Berhert to get the Milano fixed before the others get back here." He grinned at Harmony. "Good plan right?" Harmony nodded excitedly. This was just what she needed; someone with a brain around here.

"Let's go then!" She exclaimed.

Rocket grabbed Groot, a few guns, and random machine parts as the two went off.


	6. Yondu's Story

**Yondu's Story**

"What are you doing here Yondu?" Nebula asked warily as she approached the blue alien.

Yondu grinned at her. "One would almost think you weren't pleased ta see me Nebula!" He chuckled. Titanium glanced at Nebula in confusion as Yondu smirked at her. "And who's this beauty here?" He asked.

"My name is Titanium; the Controller of Metal. I am a warrior of Hijinx and member of the Elementals," Titanium stated proudly. Yondu stared at her for a second before bursting into another round of laughter.

"That's the best thing I've heard all day kid!" He grabbed his stomach and doubled over in a fit. Nebula rolled her eyes at his antics as Titanium glared fiercely.

"I'm only going to say this one more time Yondu," Nebula warned. "Why are you here on Terra?"

He took a deep breath and pulled himself up. "Well I was following my crew to go to Contraxia for some good fun times," he winked at Titanium, "but I appear to have gotten lost and ran outta fuel."

Nebula brought her katana up to Yondu's neck. "Don't lie to me Centaurian," she spoke through gritted teeth. "You Ravagers have state-of-the-art navigation systems. There is no plausible way you 'got lost' on your way to a planet that is nearly 20 jump points away from here!"

Yondu gently pushed her weapon away from him. "Still as sharp as the last time we met aren't ya." He sighed. "The Ravagers and I heard that an infinity stone appeared on Earth, so we decided to investigate. We weren't the first ones down here."

Titanium stiffened next to Nebula. "Those people that took Inferno, Earthquake, and Electric Storm! They didn't behave like Terrans."

"That's cause they ain't Terran," Yondu snickered. "They're aliens. We ain't sure what kind but they fit the description of some of Thanos' goons from The Black Order."

Nebula shuddered. "I haven't heard that name in years."

Titanium glanced between Nebula and Yondu. "Are either of you gonna tell me what this Black Order is?"

"The Black Order is a special group of warriors who worship Thanos and serve him with everything; even dying for him. The main members are known across the galaxy as his champions," Yondu explained. His eyes held a far off look. He remembered times him and his crew had tussled with such a group. The way the blood stained the ships and how the screams echoed across the stars still haunted him.

"Gamora and I were members. Gamora dropped out when she betrayed us and now I'm about to do the same," Nebula mused. "The only members left are Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glade, Cull Obsidian, and Ebony Maw. At least those are the generals. Thanos has many sympathizers across the universe who would give anything to join him and the Black Order."

Titanium shuddered. "Well then why take Inferno, Electric Storm, and Earthquake?" Titanium started to pace in front of Nebula. The metal on her arms curled like talons as Titanium clenched and unclenched her fists. "They don't have the Infinity Stone; the humans do!"

"Yeah but Inferno was born through the Reality Stone," Nebula whispered. It struck her like an asteroid. The Reality Stone had imprinted on Inferno, Tsunami, and Tornado. Whoever had one of them could track the stone. And whoever had the stone could track them.

Titanium and Yondu understood right away. "They're not going to torture them just so Inferno will find the stone, right?" Titanium's voice shook as she asked what they all knew the answer to. Yondu shook his head.

"The Black Order does their job well. Those three will be spilling whatever they want to hear within minutes, maybe an hour if they really hold out." Nebula shook at Yondu's words. She had seen first hand a Black Order interrogation. It wasn't pretty. Not even someone as strong as Inferno could make it through.

"I know what we need to do," Nebula declared.

"Ya want my help girlie?" Yondu asked. "I'm kinda stuck here for now."

"Fine," Nebula sighed. "But you do exactly as I say Centaurian." Yondu nodded but his grin didn't make Nebula too sure.

"What are we gonna do?" Titanium asked.

"First, we're going to find that infinity stone before the Black Order does," Nebula began. "Then we free Inferno, Earthquake, and Electric Storm, and then we leave this planet to find Tornado and Tsunami."

Titanium blanched for a second. "We're gonna track them down? But I thought we were to leave them alone?"

Nebula shook her head. "If Hijinx has all his warriors we have a much better chance of beating Thanos."

A moment of silence hung between the group before Yondu clapped his hands. "Well don't just stand here! Let's go on a suicide mission!"


	7. The Black Order

**The Black Order**

Inferno had never felt so much agony in her entire life. Not when her father beat her to a bloody pulp, not when the fire spirit invaded her body, not even when Hijinx had tortured her on Sanctuary. Every fiber in her body was alive with red hot fiery pain. Unlike the normal fire Inferno was used to, which gave her energy and power, this fire ate down to her core. It burned her skin till she looked like a roasted marshmallow. It tore through her muscles with exploding fury. Her body twinged and spazzed as she felt her dance with life coming to an end. Dark circles covered her eyes as the flames seared her cornea away. Darkness and pain were all she knew. Not even her mouth would work enough for her to plead with whoever was controlling the flames. Inferno just had to hang there in midair as her pain was witnessed by strangers. Suddenly it stopped.

Inferno opened her eyes to stare into the face of the most gruesome creature she had ever witnessed. It looked like a human male had fused with a squid. Its skin was an off white color and wrinkled, its eyes were soulless slants set back in its face, and the white hair on its head was stringy and fraying. It moved its mouth as if chanting a spell and Inferno felt the pain leave her completely. The wrinkled fingers wiggled in midair as the royal robes it wore gently moved by a mysterious breeze. Inferno didn't know what was worse; the pain or the sight of the creature in front of her. Now that she wasn't being subjected to the uncontrollable fire Inferno quickly took in her surroundings. She was still in the same room that the armed guards had brought her, Earthquake, and Electric Storm to. The other two elementals were still tethered to the wall. Their heads lolled to the side and their breathing was shallow. Either they had already been tortured or else they were still drugged. Now though, instead of being supervised by armored humans they were being watched by a hoard of creatures; all wearing the same royal colors and attire as the squid creature in front of Inferno. Three others in particular had gold badges on the front, just like squid boy, and they stood in front of the other monsters. All of them had their eyes on Inferno, who was just now realizing that she was suspended in midair by nothing but telekinetic force. _Great,_ she thought. _Not only are they creepy looking but they also have abilities. Just freakin great!_

"Nice to meet you child of fire," the squid greeted her. "My name is Ebony Maw, and I am a child of Thanos." Inferno winced at his grating voice. _What kind of name is Ebony Maw?_ _I think I'll just stick to Squid Boy,_ Inferno snickered silently. Suddenly a flash of heat seared through her body and Inferno cried out. Squid Boy smiled cruelly at her. "Now now young fire sprite, those thoughts of yours aren't very nice at all."

"She is an imprudent young Terrain Maw," a woman with purple hair spoke. "She doesn't understand how to be civil with her conquerors." Inferno went to say something but her mouth refused to open. It was as if some invisible force held her lips closed. _So Squid Boy is telepathic AND telekinetic. Just what I wanted to know,_ Inferno thought sourly. Squid Boy grinned at her as he read her thoughts.

"You are indeed someone we must break in order to get the information we need," a creature, Inferno didn't even know if she could call it that, stepped up next to Squid Boy. It had the grotesque features of a tree trunk with spiked arms and bulging muscles. Its face was twisted in a sour expression and it had horn like things wrapped around its head. It carried a battle ax twice the size of Inferno and it looked sharp enough to cut a mountain in half. Yet it carried it effortlessly. The body armor was placed randomly around the thing's body leaving giant patches of scaly skin exposed. Its eyes bored into Inferno's while the talons next to its mouth curled menacingly.

"Now now Cull," Squid Boy spoke calmly, "don't spoil all the fun just yet."

The purple haired woman scoffed. "Maw you waste too much time on theatrics instead of actually doing your damn job." She marched up to Inferno, her long staff/lance/sword/death stick thingy twirling in her hands. Her red eyes glowed with evil and Inferno shuddered at the awful horns that wrapped across her face like a mask. Combined with her grey skin she looked like a monster crawling straight out of hell. Before Inferno could wonder about this woman's intentions the staff/lance/sword/death stick thingy had been impaled through Inferno's stomach.

Tears streamed down Inferno's face as her body tried to writhe in place, but she was still as a stone. Without anyway to distract her mind from the torment Inferno bore the pain all on her own. The woman yanked her staff/lance/sword/death stick thingy out of Inferno and examined the scarlet blood that dripped down the handle. "Disgusting," she muttered, wiping the blood on the cloak of the final creature standing there. The red stains blended nicely with his gold and black cloak. Inferno focused on him instead of the burning agony in her midsection. His hood hid most of his features but she could still pick out the whitish skin and mangled black runes carved into his cheeks. He held his own staff/lance/sword/death stick thingy except his was longer, longer than the battle ax that Creature held, and it was double tipped with slicey dicey knives on either end. As Inferno watched her blood form a puddle on the floor beneath her she ticked them off one by one in her head: Squid Boy, Creature, Devil Woman, and Hood. All the other soldiers were faceless hunks of armor, standing silently as their generals surrounding the suspended Inferno.

Squid Boy grinned as his telekinetic powers pulled Inferno's skin back together; sealing the wound that Devil Woman had made. Inferno knew exactly what was happening. "I see that this needs no introduction to you," Squid Boy smiled. "Then let's begin."

The telekinetic hold on Inferno's mouth wouldn't even let her scream.

* * *

Electric Storm was in a fog. Her mind danced with bright colors while nameless faces and faceless names breezed past her. She saw a girl clothed in metal with one eye hidden by a milky orb. Who was she? Electric Storm reached for the face but it disappeared into the mist. A light breath whispered in her ear. "Hijinx," it said. Electric Storm spun around but found nothing except emptiness behind her. Maybe emptiness wasn't the right word. It didn't describe the utter lack of any and all existence. Was it nothing? No that made it sound like something could be made. Electric Storm stepped forward towards the dense cloud of mist. It evaporated away just as she approached; taking its whispers and faces with it. Her legs ached so she looked for a spot of ground to rest on, but instead she was greeted by a mass of bright white empty. Electric Storm reached through her mind to find anything to tell her where she was. Any word to describe her predicament. A splitting headache interrupted her thoughts.

She finally gave in to the exhaustion and collapsed. Her body, suspended by nothing at all, began a descent down to more nothing. Electric Storm tried again to reach for any way to describe this place but yet again she came up empty. Not as empty as this place though. It was as if the only life possible to exist was her. That is, if she was still alive at all. _Is this heaven? Or is this hell?_ Electric Storm didn't know if she was thinking that or if another mist was whispering to her. She was still falling.

The sensation was weird, like weightlessness. _Still not the right word._ Electric Storm knew THAT was her thoughts. She shook her head and tried to pull another one out of the blankness around her. They ran from her clutches like kids from an angry parent. She gritted her teeth but instead a cold chill entered her. More mist appeared around her and she heard the voices again; stronger, longer, more distinct. She stopped falling.

Suddenly the whiteness was pierced by a darkness. A searing darkness that calmed Electric Storm and offered her some respite from the void. Was that the right word? Electric Storm didn't know. As the light faded her true exhaustion made itself known. All her joints wailed in distress while her heart rate refused to slow. Her breath was lethargic and just moving a finger felt like climbing a mountain. As she lay there, the darkness her only friend, a sound pierced through her. Not the calming whispers of the whatever it was, but a harsh sound that made her shake despite the pain it caused.

It was laughter. Electric Storm congratulated herself on knowing the word but the pride didn't last long. This laughter wasn't normal, like the way you laugh after a well thought out joke or seeing someone fall on their face because they weren't looking where they were going. This laughter was harsh, as if lightning struck the ground and charred away all the remnants of life in that single spot. _Lighting._ The word lingered with Electric Storm but her mind quickly whisked it away. The light was returning. _No!_ Electric Storm yelled into the void. Her mind seared with lava-like pain from doing so but she persisted. Whatever few senses she had left were churning. That laughter, that evil laughter, meant something. She knew it! With almost too much energy spent Electric Storm fought to lift her eyelids; to see anything besides the lifeless light and the calming dark. Finally, _finally_ , she did it! Electric Storm opened her eyes.

And she instantly regretted it.

The sight in front of her made her head spin. Suddenly the nothingness, the void, the emptiness, the whatever, was more favorable. She was chained to a wall, a girl with green and brown next to her. She had a name, Electric Storm knew that, but her mind wouldn't cooperate long enough to look for it. A group of armed things stood nearby watching the spectacle going on in the corner. A girl with features so distinct Electric Storm almost knew her name was being stabbed, over and over again, to the pealing laughter of the group of monsters around her. Their long sticks with sharpened points went through her body again and again. Each time was more violent than the last. Electric Storm turned away from it. She felt her stomach curl and the contents of it threatened to come out. Did she even have anything in her stomach? As Electric Storm turned away her eyes met with the eyes of one of the armored things. It moved towards her quickly, more quickly than her mind could process. She felt the prick of a needle in her wrist and suddenly the light was back. Everything faded: the room, the armor, the girl, even the laughter.

Electric Storm was back in the void. She floated through it and resolved to listen to the mist as it whispered to her. She stopped trying to work out faces or grasp thoughts that went sailing by. Instead she lay there, not flying but yet not falling in a state of not entirely calm but not entirely painful. A perfect balance. As everything should be. The voices whispered their words but they fell on deaf ears as Electric Storm reveled in the silence and the noise at the same time; one never outdoing the other. Except once. A single thought forced its way through her mind, crossing the expanse of blankness she felt. The perfect word to describe everything about this place, this _feeling_ , this time.

Infinity


	8. The Trek Across Berhert

**The Trek Across Berhert**

Rocket hummed gently as Harmony and him wandered across the dense forest to get themselves a ship. Harmony appeared content to be in nature but Rocket kept his ears and eyes peeled at all times. He didn't want to startle Harmony, but Rocket was preparing for a fight as they got closer to the village. Berhert was inhabited by the Sagittarians. They were a race of people much like humans in appearance but highly technologically advanced. Despite having a planet covered mostly by forest and ocean they had some of the most powerful technology to exist. Thanks to their monarch, Princess Daydra, who had fought for their freedom years ago this planet thrived. _Any_ and _all_ visitors were unwelcome. Rocket hoped his standing with the mechanic would help him and Harmony pass through.

The two came to a small stream that gurgled with bright blue water. Harmony knelt down next to it. Rocket sighed and flopped on the rocks. He didn't remember the town being this far away! Either that or he was just desperately out of shape. "Is it safe to drink?" Harmony asked Rocket. He nodded tersely as his ears swiveled. What sounded like rustling leaves came from their left. Perhaps it was just the wind he had heard? Rocket shook his head. Being paranoid was good especially in dangerous territory such as Berhert. The leaves rustled again but this time Rocket felt a light breeze ruffle his fur. It was just the wind. _Or perhaps that is what they want us to think,_ his mind chided him. Rocket shook the thought away. His senses were fine tuned; nothing would get past him.

Except maybe a Sagittarian in a mechanical flying contraption.

The creature had grey skin, bright grey eyes, and sleek black hair cut close to its head. It wore the royal colors of Princess Daydra, red and grey, but it also had silver colored armor glistening across its torso and neck. It almost looked like a normal warrior, except the large metallic wings embedded into its back. Rocket shouted just in time for Harmony to roll out of the way of the knives carved on the tips of each wing. Each knife was three inches long and razor sharp. There had to be at least 40 in total; 20 on either wing. They ran up and down the sides like the teeth of a monster. The machine screeched as the knives cut through thin air and the warrior flew back into the trees.

"Wha-what was that, that, _thing_?" Harmony panted in shock. Rocket just grabbed her arm and pulled her into the thick foliage. Up until this point Rocket had been sticking to the paths that had been worn down by years of travel. Now the uncharted woods were their best bet. Yes the Sagittarians knew the woods better than anyone, but Rocket had instincts, camouflage, and Harmony. He hoped that would be enough.

The two raced through the trees and bushes as if an entire army was chasing them down. As far as Rocket knew there very well could be. Every rustle of the leaves made his hair stand on end, and the slightest mark on the ground caused his eyes to dart wildly. Harmony hurried along as well and Rocket could feel her wind power bristling at the ready.

After a few minutes of running relentlessly through the trees they slowed to a stop. Rocket's throat burned. He needed something to drink. Harmony seemed better off; she had at least gotten a drink out of the stream. Rocket sniffed the air to see if he could smell dampness that would signify water. Nothing. He began to wish that Courtney was here.

"We need to get some cover," Harmony said, "There might be more creatures." Rocket nodded. The two began stalking under leaves and behind bushes as their eyes scanned for a place to hide. Meanwhile Rocket had his eyes and ears peeled for more Sagittarians. A loud shrieking reached their ears and they simultaneously dived for the bushes. Rocket landed on a pile of leaves but instead of a cushioned fall he kept going down. Rocket let out a scream as his body hit the jagged rocky ground. He looked up at the 10 foot fall he had just taken. The opening of the cave was barely the length of him while the cavern itself was like a house. _Well, I did want some cover,_ he thought. Harmony's face poked through the opening.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Rocket nodded. Harmony looked around before pushing herself through the small opening and landing gracefully beside him.

"Show off," Rocket grumbled. Harmony just grinned at him. A rustling wind swept through the air and Rocket watched as Harmony guided the leaves back up and over the opening. She set them down gently as her wind powers died out. Rocket always loved to watch her hair as it went back from a whirling mass of uncontrollable wind to the crazy black curls she always let run free. Wind sprite suited her very well.

The sound of shrieking metal went past them but the Sagittarian didn't see them. Rocket relaxed. They were safe. It was then that he felt the slight wet sensation on his fur. He turned to see his tail soaking in a small pool of water. Rocket smiled and quickly bent down to lap up the cool drink.

"So do you mind telling me what exactly that thing was?" Harmony asked.

Rocket sat up and laid back against the wall. Where to begin? "Well you see," he began, "that's not exactly an easy question to answer."

Harmony leaned closer to him. "Well then try your best." Rocket smirked. He had to admit, this Terrain had some spunk.

"It all started long time ago, like any stereotypical story does," Rocket said with a chuckle. Harmony grinned but didn't laugh. "Fine, no jokes," Rocket scoffed. "Ya see, Berhert wasn't always so pretty and peaceful. Back in the day it was ruled by war and destruction; typical stuff for this universe. The Sagittarians were ruled by some crazy nut-job, another typical thing in the universe, called the Galaxy Master. It was either submit to him or be killed so their choice is kinda obvious. Well after being his slaves and servants for generations they finally got a bit of sunshine in their lives. Some ship crashed on Berhert and this guy called the Warlord Supreme and some green creature he called Hulk fought with the Sagittarians for freedom. The Sagittarians won and they spent the past years saving their planet and rebuilding it. Now they're the leaders in the galaxy for tech and stuff like that. Big traders with war planets and sometimes illegal organizations. Princess Daydra is a fair leader but could care less about keeping peace with the rest of the universe. As far as she is concerned we can blast each other to pieces but as long as Berhert remains intact there's no reason for them to interfere."

Harmony nodded. "That explains why they're trying to turn us into mince meat."

Loud metallic screeches sounded from above as winged shadows glided by their hole. The creatures didn't see them though and the duo was safe. "Guess we're gonna be waiting this one out," Harmony sighed. She lied down on her back and flopped her arm over her face. "I'm taking a nap." Rocket smiled. That was a good idea. The battle, the crash, Peter's dad, the separation, and the trek through the woods had taken all his energy from him. It was hard to believe that it had only been two days. Rocket curled up with his tail over his nose and fell asleep

* * *

A loud crash awoke him. Rocket sprang up, his guns out and ready, but it was only their leafy covering laying on the ground. Harmony stood there, wind still whirling. "Calm down Rocket," she chided him. "It's just me." Rocket nodded and put his guns back in their holsters.

"What are you doing?" He asked her as Harmony used her wind to remove items from the opening to their hiding place.

"Isn't it obvious? The Sagittarians are long gone and daylight is running out. We need to get moving," Harmony swept her hand over Rocket and he began to hover inside of her power. She pulled him closer and the two breezed through the opening and back into the forest. Harmony set Rocket down and disintegrated back into human form. "Let's get moving," she said before trudging off into the shrubbery. Rocket honed in his senses, but upon sensing no danger he dropped to all fours and chased after Harmony's retreating figure.

The two walked at a brisk pace through the dense trees. Rocket wanted to find the pathway so they wouldn't get lost but the risk of seeing the Sagittarians was too great. As the suns sank lower though and the shadows turned long and disfigured Rocket began to hope for the path to magically appear before them; Sagittarians or not. Harmony on the other hand was perfectly content to sneak through the darkness; using the shadows as extra cover. She seemed almost in touch with the darkness around her. Rocket's own animal instincts helped him along but the fear at the back of his mind remained.

"How are you so natural at this?" Rocket asked. His voice echoed in the emptiness.

"I never considered myself a natural at sneaking through hostile alien forests but if you say so," Harmony joked. Rocket rolled his eyes but grinned a bit at her humor. "All seriousness though," Harmony began, "I kinda have experience with getting around in the dark." Her voice was solemn and downtrodden; like the weight of her words made her whole body ache. "I don't know if Drax told you this already, but my family is gone. He kinda figured that out when we were on Earth and he saw my home," Her voice turned sour on the word home. Rocket had a feeling she didn't consider where she lived her home. "I watched them die ya know," she continued. "All three of them: Mom, Dad, and my brother. I was maybe 10 when it happened. Masked robbers looking for money and jewelry came barging in. When my parents, who were so poor that they couldn't afford to pay for proper shoes, didn't give them what they wanted they shot them both. My brother tried to be a hero and it got him killed too." Harmony took a deep breath as the memory poured from her lips. Rocket felt a pain in his chest; pity for the poor girl. "I kinda had to get used to sneaking around for what I want," Harmony laughed darkly. "I was born for this I guess."

"I don't have a family either," Rocket said in the echoing darkness. "I was born to a family I guess, but then the scientists came and ripped me away. I don't even remember them."

Harmony reached down and wrapped her arms around Rocket in a hug. He stiffened for a second but relaxed enough to put his arms part way around her as well. "Well you know what they say," Harmony sighed, "two broken parts make a whole."

"That's not what they say," Rocket snickered.

"Well that's what we'll say."

After a few silent moment the two continued along through the thick trees and dense leaves. Rocket relished in the feeling of being present but absent at the same time. He felt so natural in nature. It was in his blood he supposed. After some time of walking, lights shone ahead of them. Not search lights like Rocket's instincts initially warned but warm lights. Lights that came from a house or a shop. Harmony and Rocket emerged from the woods to overlook a small town of wood and smoke. Some people moved throughout, not like the mechanical monstrosity that had chased them, and there was talking and laughter sounding out of open windows. They almost looked friendly but Rocket knew better than to trust anyone on this land. Except one person.

"Where is this mechanic that you know?" Harmony whispered from behind Rocket.

"She's down there," Rocket pointed down to a hut on the edge of the town. A similar warm glow emitted from the slightly cracked windows and random scrap parts were strewn across the yard. Unlike the rest of the houses which were carefully built by trained hands this piece of wood was so lopsided and dingy a blind person could have done better! Harmony raised an eyebrow in confusion. If this person couldn't fix up a nice looking hut then how could they be trusted to get them a ship capable of going to Xandar? Rocket sensed her apprehensions and smiled. "Just wait," he said.

The two slid down the hill easily and crept past stragglers heading home. In the shadows that the lights cast it was easy to not be detected. They moved around back of the hut and Rocket rapped his knuckles in quick succession on the metal door. After a moments pause he made two longer taps before stepping back. The door inched open just enough for a small face to poke through the opening. The creature was the same size as Rocket but Harmony recognized it as a different Earth creature. A cream colored otter stepped out into the lamp light.

"Rocket?" She asked softly. He nodded and the otter threw herself into his arms. They embraced like lovers who hadn't seen each other in years and Harmony wouldn't doubt that description to be true. She wore a jumpsuit similar to his and her whiskers were stained with grease. After their long hug ended Rocket turned to present Harmony.

"This is my Terran friend Harmony," Rocket began. When the otter raised her eye at Harmony Rocket shook his head as if to say 'don't ask'. "Harmony, this is the person who is going to help us get back to Xanadar," Rocket said as he put his arm slightly around the smiling otter. "This is Lylla."


	9. In Search Of Reality

**In Search Of Reality**

Yondu, Nebula, and Titanium used the shadows to run through the woods of Terra. Ducking between trees whenever a bright light shone on them, stepping over loud branches and leaves, and slowly weaving their way up to the edge of the treeline. Eventually they opened up into a sprawling field overlooking a city. Large metallic buildings glowed with dazzling lights as their pointed tips breached the sky. Nebula wanted to stop and take in the beauty, even if it was just Terran structures.

"Well we can't just stand here," Yondu hissed as more lights went past them. Nebula and Titanium nodded and the group made their way down into the shadows of the city.

"Do we even know that the Reality Stone is here?" Titanium asked as the trio crouched in a long alley.

Nebula shrugged. "Maybe it isn't," she pointed down the road where a swarm of Terran machines were flocking to a large structure with hundreds of guards stationed outside. "But that sure looks like something Terrans would do when faced with a powerful and unknown object."

"I like the way ya think Nebula," Yondu grinned. The trio made their way down to the crowd of Terrans watching what was happening.

A Terran dressed much like Hijinx in a white lab coat stood on the steps of the building. Armed guards stood stiffly at his side. "Please everyone remain calm. We will have a press statement soon about this object. There's nothing to fear."

His words didn't satisfy the growing mob of people. "What about the missing children?" A voice asked from the middle of the crowd. A haggard woman stepped through the people. The scientists gave her a concerned look.

"M'am I know that you have concerns about your daughter and her friends disappearing but right now that is a better job for your local police to handle."

"No," the woman said defiantly. "My daughter and her friends disappeared after that thing," she pointed at a container the guards were carrying, "landed in my backyard. My child has cancer so I am not going to rest until I find out what happened to her and the others." Nebula's ears perked up at the lady's words. Cancer? Disappeared? Girls? Same time as the Reality Stone? That sounded an awful lot like Inferno, Tsunami, and Tornado.

At this point the small group of people had grown to a large mass of people. Most were using small metal devices to film and take pictures of the event while others shouted questions with larger machines behind them recording the events. The guards were standing firm at keeping them back but now more people were shouting and yelling and trying to get closer.

"Are they gonna mob them or something?" Titanium asked worriedly.

"I hope so," Nebula hissed. "That would make this a lot easier."

Yondu scoffed. "Nothin is ever easy girlie." A wicked smile spread across his face. "Unless of course ya got me with ya." A soft whistle left his lips and his famed arrow slid out of its holster and hovered gently next to him.

"You really think they won't notice an arrow speeding past them?" Nebula said credulously. "They're Terrans but they aren't _that_ stupid."

"Well they might see it but they won't be able to stop it," Yondu cackled as he made the arrow dance around him.

Titanium reached out to touch it. The gold metal on the sides curled away from her touch. She smiled as even the inanimate object feared her. Nebula had to admit, the little experiment definitely had some nerve in her. Less than the others but she had it.

"Even if you could find some way to get the arrow near them," Nebula said hypothetically, "what makes you think you can get the stone? It's inside that crate thing." As she spoke the Terran carrying the lower half of the unit stumbled and the entire thing almost crashed to the ground. All three aliens jumped in horror as the thought of the Reality Stone destroying the planet they were on filled their mind. None of the Terrans panicked though. _How blissful ignorance is,_ Nebula thought sourly.

"Don't worry Nebula," Yondu chided her. "I'll distract em and you'll grab the crate and then we scram offa this planet."

"No!" Titanium shrieked. "We need to rescue Electric Storm, Earthquake, and Inferno first! That stone will help us locate them and we can use it as leverage against The Black Order!" Yondu smiled like he was about to mock her but Titanium wasn't having it. She grabbed the arrow in her hand and squeezed the metal until it bent under her power into a knot. She dropped the arrow at Yondu's feet. "Agree with me and promise not to just run off with the stone and I'll put it back."

Yondu looked at Nebula with wide eyes. "Is this thing fer real?" Nebula nodded somberly. Yondu sighed and scratched his balding head. "Fine girlie ya got your promise."

"Say it."

"I promise not ta take the stone before we get yer friends."

Titanium nodded and twisted the arrow back to its regular form. Yondu whistled it up off the ground and inspected it to make sure it was okay before turning it towards the crowd.

"Okay girls lets do this," Yondu said. Nebula waited to see what the Centaurian had in mind. "I don't like you anyway boy," Yondu smiled as his arrow flew across the crowd and through the head scientist. The mob fell silent as the arrow sped off and the body dropped to the steps like cement. Screams tore through the crowd as the arrow came speeding back and weaved past people; tearing at clothes and cutting off hair. Terrans ran in different directions as the guards aimed their clumsy weapons up at the sky looking for the culprit.

"Sniper on the roof!" One yelled.

"No he's on the ground!" Another shouted.

Nebula dashed out of the bushes with Titanium right behind her as Yondu laughed manically. They sprinted past guards and Nebula knocked out the back scientist carrying the crate. He collapsed and she caught the crate. Titanium tore it open as the other scientists heard the grating sounds.

"Stop!" One cried out before Nebula clocked him over the jaw and he went out. The rest dropped the sides of the crate and ran off for cover. Titanium pulled out a small containment unit. She twisted off the top and there glowed Reality.

"Hey precious," Nebula cooed at the pulsing light. Thanos wanted this, the Novacore wanted this, Hijinx wanted this, hell even the damn Guardians wanted this. Now Reality was in her control and she could decide who to give it to. It was finally time for Nebula to choose who she was really loyal to.

And she couldn't choose.

"Nebula?" Titanium's voice sounded over Nebula's thoughts. "Nebula come on we need to go. Yondu can't hold them off forever." Nebula nodded and closed the lid on Reality. She could decide on the way to the other Elementals. Titanium and Nebula darted past cowering Terrans and back to where Yondu was piloting his arrow.

"C'mon Centaurian," Nebula grabbed his collar and pulled him back into the shadows. Yondu sighed defeated but nevertheless called his arrow back to him. The three then disappeared from the chaos and started their sprint for anywhere to perform the next task.

After running what was probably a good few miles they stopped in a blissful field with tall stalks. Secluded and open, perfect to talk to Reality. Nebula bent down and opened up the containment unit. Reality glowed up at them with an almost childlike grace. It was mesmerizing.

"Reality," Nebula spoke loudly for the stone to hear her. "We are but humble servants of you and your power. We are here to beg of your help. Our friends are missing and one of them is tied to you. The fire sprite Inferno. She is in danger and we beg you to lead us to her."

The stone glowed lightly for a few seconds with its radiant power leaking out onto the surrounding stalks. Nebula watched the stalks warp into small figures dancing then to marching then back to dancing. She knew it wasn't real, it was the stone changing things, but still her eyes watched in fascination. Eventually the glow dissipated.

"Wait what's it doing?" Titanium asked in shock. "Stop it, we need to know where Electric Storm is!" Nebula put her hand on the girls shoulder to calm her.

"Ya seem more interested in findin Electric Storm than any of the others," Yondu observed.

Titanium nodded. "Of course. She's my sister. I may not like her much but she's still a part of me."

The stone seemed to sense her distress and it glowed brighter. Nebula, Yondu, and Titanium watched in astonishment as the stone sent out a beam of red light. The light sped across the field and over the mountain. Nebula watched as her eyesight picked up the small valley the light stopped in. "There," she whispered.

"Well c'mon!" Titanium grabbed Reality and raced off across the field.

Yondu sighed. "That's really far tho!" He whined.

Nebula grabbed his arm tightly. "Come along Centaurian," she groaned. The two quickly gave chase to Titanium and Reality.

* * *

"I don't know where Reality is! J-just please stop!" Inferno sobbed. Squid Boy shook his head sadly.

"You should know by now dear that that isn't the answer we want to hear." Inferno tried to say something else but her mouth was sealed again as Devil Woman brought her lance/staff/sword/death stick thingy back up and cut a long slice from Inferno's chest down to her pelvis. Whatever mystic chemicals Devil Woman held forced the pain throughout Inferno's body. Even the tears on her face burned.

"This is getting tiresome," Creature sighed from where he leaned against the wall. His ax was resting on his lap.

Devil Woman stepped away and allowed for Hood to clean her lance/staff/sword/death stick thingy. "I agree with Cull," she addressed Squid Boy, "this sprite is giving us nothing."

Squid Boy sighed. "Well I frankly can find nothing in her psyche to move this along any faster," he sighed and Inferno could feel his presence in her mind. "She doesn't care about the other two," he motioned to Electric Storm and Earthquake who were collapsed in the corner still, "and she has an unusually strong will."

"She must have something," Hood hissed. Inferno hadn't yet heard him speak so his sudden words alarmed her. His voice was more pleasant than that of Creature or Squid Boy and much less threatening than Devil Woman.

Suddenly Squid Boy stopped. An evil smile spread across his face. "Perhaps it is not physical ways we get this one to talk." He grinned and his finger performed some simple runic pattern. Inferno saw her vision going out and fought to keep her eyes open. Except her eyes weren't closing? It was like a shade was being drawn behind her eyes. Almost like an old time movie screen lowering.

"So she does have a past," Devil Woman chuckled.

"Yes," Squid Boy sighed. "Now child of fire, tell us where Reality is, or perhaps you'd enjoy reliving some events?"

 _No, he couldn't have found that,_ Inferno thought as the all too horrifying memory came rushing back to her. _No no no no no no no no no no no no NO! Stop!_ Inferno begged in her mind. She knew Squid Boy could hear her. His all too familiar chuckle reminded her that he didn't care. Inferno tried to think of anything else other than this memory. The clink of a belt falling was just teacups clinking together. Those creaking noises weren't a bed but instead old floors. The sounds of a knife cutting through fabric and threatening to cut through flesh were just in her imagination. The sound of pleading and screams were just from some other person's horror story.

Suddenly Inferno felt the hold on her mouth release. "Well child?" Squid Boy asked. "Are you going to tell us?"

"I-I don't know!" Inferno sobbed. "Please I'm begging you I don't know! Make it stop please!"

"Not until you give us something," Squid Boy sighed. Inferno felt the defeated feeling growing in her stomach as her tears dripped off her face. She choked on the saltiness.

Suddenly a loud explosion rocked her body. Inferno felt herself hit the floor but couldn't tell if it was real or in her mind. She curled into a ball, shaking and sobbing as the pain grew throughout her body. It felt so _real._ Like she was really still an innocent kid for the last time. The cover lifted off her eyes and Inferno was face to face with the metallic spikes of Titanium.

"Inferno!" She cried out. Titanium wrapped her arms around the fire sprite but Inferno just limply collapsed into her. Titanium grabbed Inferno's face. "Are you okay?" She asked. Inferno just continued to cry. Her nails scratched across the marks left by The Black Order and reopened the healing wounds. She shook and thrashed as Titanium tried to hold her together.

"Nebula!" Titanium shouted. "Help!"

Nebula looked up from where Yondu was finishing up slaughtering some of the armored creatures. Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian had been thrown from the force of the Reality Stone but Proxima Midnight and Corvious Glave were still up and ready to fight. Nebula held up the stone which blasted them out and to where the other two Black Order members lay. Nebula then ran over to see what was wrong.

"Inferno won't wake up!" Titanium said worriedly. Inferno shook and sobbed feverishly on the floor. Nebula bent down and tried to shake her arm but Inferno lashed out like a crazy person. Her nails dug into Nebula's metallic plates and blood seeped out from under Inferno's nails. Nebula shook her off and watched as the powerful fire sprite curled up into a ball and cried like a child.

"Will she be okay?" Earthquake's raspy voice made Nebula look up. Electric Storm leaned on Earthquake's side as the two Elementals hobbled over to the scene.

"I don't know," Nebula said honestly. She lifted Inferno up off the ground and tried to avoid her clawing hands. The fire sprite kept her eyes closed as she tied to escape Nebula's grip. "Hush Inferno," Nebula whispered in what she hoped was a soothing voice. "You're safe now. Calm down." If Inferno heard her she didn't show it.

"Are we gonna go or not?" Yondu asked.

"How?" Electric Storm asked.

"The same way we came," Nebula said. "We go back through the sewer and find our ship."

The group made their way out of the partially ruined building. Yondu pulled the top off the sewer to let first Earthquake and Electric Storm down. Then Nebula carrying a shaking Inferno followed by Titanium and Yondu. After walking for a bit Inferno calmed down to just restless shaking and silent tears. Every so often she muttered "stop" or "please don't" but Nebula was too busy worrying about the Infinity Stone in her pocket to be concerned with the traumatized Elemental.

Eventually they came back to where Nebula and the other Elementals had originally entered. One by one they climbed out of the disgusting sewer and up to the ship concealed by the rocks. The door opened and Nebula had Titanium carry in Inferno. After the Elementals were all on board Nebula turned to Yondu.

"Thanks for your help Centaurian," she said plainly. Yondu grinned and patted Nebula's shoulder.

"My pleasure girlie," his grin showed gold teeth. "But I might need ta ask some help of y'all now."

Nebula sighed. "Of course you do."

"My ship is still broken," Yondu said with a grin, "and I might need to catch up with my crew to get my parts. Do ya mind dropping me off at Contraxia?" Nebula sighed but nodded. She very well couldn't leave him here. Yondu smiled and climbed on the ship with Nebula bringing up the rear. The door shut behind them and soon the ship was blasting off into the atmosphere.

Nebula took a seat in the captains chair while Yondu plopped down behind her in a passenger seat. Titanium was in the back tending to Electric Storm while Earthquake attempted to wake Inferno. Nebula pulled the orb out of her pocket. Reality was trapped inside. She opened up the top to see the beautiful stone shining at her. "Thank you," she sighed. "You helped us and you helped Inferno." The stone glowed warmly in response.

"You talkin to a stone now?" Yondu laughed behind her. "Y'all are crazier than I thought."

Nebula rolled her eyes and turned back to Reality. "What can I do to repay you?" The stone didn't respond. Then Nebula felt a hazy red glow wash over her. The Infinity Gantlet was magnified in her eyes. All the stones glowed except for Reality. Its spot was empty. The vision faded and Nebula balked at the stone. "You want to be a part of that?" The stone glowed in response.

Nebula sighed and got up. She couldn't just give the stone to Thanos when her loyalties were now cemented to Hijinx. Once The Black Order told Thanos who had left with the stone Nebula would be finished. Unless The Black Order got the stone anyway. She smiled. That was genius! Nebula went to the bottom of the craft and approached the window. Terra was disappearing behind them but The Black Order would quickly follow. Nebula placed the orb inside the ejection tube and pressed the button. There it went, speeding into the abyss of space. Nebula smiled. Her loyalties would always be in serious question but as of right now she knew exactly what she was doing.


	10. Ode To Xandar

**Ode To Xandar**

"I'm glad Rocket has been able to make friends," the otter Lylla smiled at Harmony warmly. The three of them were inside Lylla's shack-like house; Harmony and Rocket sitting on pieces of metal shoved into the wall to resemble chairs while the busy otter tinkered with some machinery. "He was so reclusive when I last saw him. I'd hoped he would've made at least some friends in the galaxy."

Harmony laughed. "Don't worry, Rocket has plenty of friends."

"And enemies," Rocket chirped happily. Harmony and Lylla gave him an odd look as he grinned back like having many people wanting to kill him was a good thing.

"Ya don't need to worry bout me Lylla," Rocket said as he put his paw on Lylla's shoulder, "I have a family now and we're stickin together. Kinda have to after that Infinity Stone bullshit we went through."

Lylla gasped with excitement. "That was you?" She asked. "I heard about the feat with the Infinity Stone on Xandar," Lylla continued, "I didn't realize it was you who was involved though Rocket."

Rocket grinned and spread his arms wide. "Who else would be crazy enough to do that?" Lylla laughed and Rocket's grin broadened. Harmony glanced between the two creatures. There was a story here, she knew it, but now was not the time to figure it out.

"So Lylla, Rocket tells me you can get us a ship to Xandar," Harmony interrupted their little reunion. Lylla nodded excitedly.

"Of course I can get you to Xandar!" She scampered over to a panel on the wall. After tapping a few buttons the rock wall slid back to reveal an elevator.

"A false door," Harmony gasped. Rocket grinned proudly.

Lylla beckoned them in. "You really think I'd just leave my inventions lying around in this dump?" She laughed and after the three of them were inside the door slid back into place and the elevator dropped rapidly down. They struck bottom hard and Rocket and Harmony were thrown to the floor. "Yeah sorry," Lylla apologized as the door opened again. "That happens sometimes."

Harmony got up and stepped out into a metal bunker. The ceiling reached many feet into the air with crystallized chandeliers hanging down. The walls were textured with holes for small hands and feet to scale them while beams of machines held large pieces of technology above the floor. Tools were laid out on a table that stretched from one wall to the other while a small mechanical bird fluttered across it with a rag in its mouth. It used its claws to pick up a tool, clean it, and place it back on the table. The whole place stunk of grease, oil, and dust.

"This is something Lylla," Harmony said amazed.

"Thank you!" Lylla said happily. the bird flapped over to her and rested on her shoulder. "This is my helper Marble. I built him myself." Marble chirped at them before going back to his job. Rocket and Harmony watched the creature with fascination.

"You built a living thing?" Harmony asked. The otter nodded. "That's beyond amazing Lylla," she responded. This scenario eerily reminded Harmony of Hijinx and his lab. They built living things there too. Living things that did their bidding. Except what Lylla had done was harmless; just a bird to help her out. Harmony supposed Hijinx thought what he did was harmless. A bunch of elementals to help him out. The parallels amazed her, and terrified her. If there was truly no difference between Lylla's bird and Hijinx's elementals did that mean there was no right or wrong side to choose? Harmony shook her head. No, Hijinx was in the wrong. He had to be.

 _Then what makes what Lylla did good?_

Harmony ignored the voice in her head. It would just get her in trouble.

Lylla pulled a ragged cover off a large object to reveal a gleaming mini ship. It was the size of the mining pods on Knowhere and was fitted with a tiny set of laser canons up front. There were also places to set guns on the sides. Rocket flipped the door up and jumped inside. "Sweet!" He started toying around with the controls. "This is incredible Lylla," Rocket praised her. The otter grinned at his praise.

Harmony stepped up inside and felt the leather on the seats. It was a formidable ship indeed. "Thank you so much Lylla," Harmony smiled warmly at the otter.

"You both are very welcome," Lylla said back. "Any time Rocket and his friends need help I'm happy to give it." She paused a moment. "Would you two like to stay for a bite to eat and a rest perhaps before leaving?" She smiled at Rocket. "You and I could catch up Rocket."

Rocket looked like he wanted to say yes and Harmony was tempted to let him. Then the raccoon turned to her and shook his head no. "I'm sorry Lylla," he said sadly, "maybe another time but we have a very important mission. A friend is in trouble and she needs our help." Lylla nodded in understanding before pulling Rocket into a hug. Harmony watched as Rocket hugged her back and the two held the embrace for quite some time before letting go.

"Good bye Rocket," Lylla said softly.

"Good bye Lylla," Rocket whispered back. They touched noses and then Lylla left the ship and pulled the door close. Rocket started the engine and the ship rose off the ground. Soon they were flying up and through a skylight above them. The rock sealed behind them and soon they breached Berheart's atmosphere.

"Xandar here we come!"


	11. Fear The Titan

**Fear The Titan**

The ship landed on Hijinx's planet during the night. A fact evident by the knowledge that Nebula had fallen asleep to a dark sky full of stars and had woken up to a ball of fiery sunshine glaring down at her. Nebula rolled the other way on her bed. She didn't want to get up yet. There were still the questions of what to do with Yondu seeing as how they had missed Contraxia, figuring out how traumatized Inferno was, if Earthquake and Electric Storm had been hurt, and of course, what to tell Hijinx about Reality. She really should've thought that through before giving up the stone.

Nebula pulled herself out of bed in a daze. She needed a drink. Preferably a strong one.

Earthquake was already outside the ship reveling in the light of the suns. Her green vines wound their way into the ground and her complexion softened. Nebula wished she could heal like that instead of feeling her joints snapping themselves back into place. Her arm twinged at the thought. "How is Inferno doing?" Nebula asked Earthquake.

"We're all doing fine," Earthquake responded. She didn't even bother to turn around. Nebula sighed and went back inside the ship to find that damned Centaurian. Of course Yondu was already up and drinking something out of a flask.

"Heya girlie!" He greeted. "Beautiful day here on Not-Contraxia."

"Shut up Yondu, it's not my fault we didn't pass any jump points," Nebula grumbled. She wasn't in the mood to listen to the Ravager jab at her. Luckily Yondu sensed that and kept his mouth shut.

A sizzle of electrical energy let Nebula know that Electric Storm was up and on the move. And definitely _not_ happy. "Good freaking morning," she growled as she came into the sitting room. Titanium followed behind her sister like a shy puppy. Electric Storm suddenly stopped and Titanium forcefully ran into her back. In response a quick bolt of lightning shocked Titanium's metal plates causing her to let out a short yelp. Electric Storm did not look sorry. She instead plucked the flask from Yondu and downed the rest of the alcohol in one gulp. Yondu's shocked expression made her smile sweetly before shattering the container on the ground. The bitchy elemental then left the ship. Titanium bent down and scooped up some of the broken shards before dashing out after her.

"That one's got a mighty big attitude," Yondu spat. His eyes looked forlornly at the broken bottle of happiness. Nebula nodded and left him to wallow in self pity. She went back the hall to the infirmary where they had put Inferno. The fire sprite was laying still on the bed; no flames even thinking about jumping from her skin. She was pretty for a human. Bright red hair, toned body, deep brown eyes, smooth skin. Nebula sat in the chair opposite the bed and watched the slow rising and falling of the elemental's chest. She looked so at peace; so calm.

What had The Black Order done to her?

* * *

"Ah there you all are!" Hijinx met them at the door of the lab with open arms. Behind him stood Cosma with a dark glare. She was clearly not as pleased to see them. The stars floating in the abyss of her translucent body exploded in a fiery fury. Nebula halted before getting any closer to the seething Queen.

"So sorry for the delay," Nebula spoke for the group. Behind her stood Yondu, Electric Storm, Earthquake, and Titanium. The latter two held the still unconscious Inferno. "We ran into some issues."

"Did those issues make it a necessity for you to bring a _stranger_ here?" Cosma snapped. She pointed a blue and black finger at Yondu who stood sideways in the group. She smiled at her in his normal charismatic way, but she looked less than impressed.

Nebula motioned to Yondu. "This is Yondu Udonta. He is a Ravager and was of great help on Terra after The Black Order attacked us." The scientists gathered inside the lab jumped in horror at the name. Even they knew to fear Thanos's goons. Hijinx looked less ruffled but more cautious than at his initial greeting. Cosma reluctantly relaxed.

"Come," Hijinx motioned them towards the elevator, "let's talk upstairs about this." One of the scientists came up and took Inferno away from Earthquake and Titanium. The collapsed elemental was dropped on a cart and taken off to one of the labs. The great metal doors closed and Inferno was gone.

Once the group was sat at the large wooden table Nebula had attended her first meeting at, Hijinx began peppering them with questions about what had transpired. Who had been hurt? Did they find the stone? Where was the stone now? What had happened to Inferno? What did Yondu have to do with any of this? Nebula answered every question as best as she could but with Cosma staring her down the entire time it was hard to keep her concentration. The Queen of the Cosmos was suspicious of Nebula and the other elementals, but mostly of Yondu it seemed. Nebula couldn't blame her; she was suspicious of Yondu as well, but Cosma seemed to be the kind of suspicious that quickly turns people from alive to dead. Despite hating the Centaurian with all her electronic fibers, Nebula did not want to see him dead. At least not while he was still useful.

"So you just gave one of the most powerful things in creation to the largest mass murderers in the universe?" Cosma asked angrily. Her black eyes narrowed deeply and her fingers curled into fists.

"Well in her defense," Yondu piped up despite Nebula kicking him under the table, "The Black Order could've followed us if they thought we still had the stone and that would not have been good, right?" He angled his question to Hijinx who just nodded. "So ya see girlie," Yondu addressed Cosma again, "it was very beneficial for Nebula here ta send the stone on its lovely little way."

"Why is it talking?' Cosma growled. Yondu looked slightly taken aback but shrugged off the insult and resumed being quiet. "Royals," he grumbled under his breath.

Cosma now turned to Nebula. "What you did was highly unorthodox and beyond irresponsible," she began angrily. "You have just given our only advantage over to that monster and his crazed followers in exchange for nothing but more heartache on our part! If I didn't know everything that was going on in this universe I might suspect you of being a spy!"

The insult did not sting Nebula like it was meant to. In fact she barely heard it. Nebula was hung up on Cosma's words. "Cosma, you must be mistaken. Back when we first met, during when Hijinx tried to fuse you to a Terran, you proclaimed to not know Thanos because, and I quote, 'he's not worth knowing'. Now you call his goons the largest mass murderers in the universe and say he is a monster. Can you see where this is confusing?" Nebula grinned at the Queen's gaping expression. She was obviously not used to being called out on her lies.

"Just because I do not care to know this Thanos does not mean I am not familiar with him, his henchmen and their many evils." Cosma pulled an excuse out of her ass with ease but she was not fooling Nebula. Cosma feared Thanos. She feared him so much she refused to acknowledge him. And that fact made Nebula's electronics shudder and convulse inside her. It made her head spin slightly and her arm twitch in her old nervous tick that she thought she had gotten rid of. The hollow feeling of powerlessness filled her electronic heart. If she had any skin left she might have been sweating. These feelings were alien to Nebula, but her memories of before made her recognize them.

Nebula was scared.

Not of The Black Order, not of Thanos, not of Hijinx, and definitely not of Cosma and her lies. Nebula was scared of the thought that such a powerful creature, a queen of everything to exist, could fear flesh. The rightful bearer of the Infinity Stones was scared of some insignificant creature coming after them with little more than nothing at his side. Cosma proclaimed to know everything about the universe, so she had to know that Thanos could never succeed in his plans. There was no reason for her to fear him!

Unless there was a chance he could win.

And that thought made Nebula _terrified_.


	12. Lifesaver

**Lifesaver**

The small pod touched down on Xandar with what could only be described as a near crash. Grass and dirt coated the windows as the engines tore it off the ground. Harmony grabbed onto the sides of the ship as Rocket grinned like a madman. Small flames burst off of the backside as the rest of the machine came to a grinding halt against an outcropping of rocks. The pod rolled on its side like a tired dog before creaking and powering down. Harmony dropped from the wall and sighed as Rocket chuckled. "Well wasn't that fun!" He said happily. Harmony just gave him a look before leaning over and hurling.

The two guardians left the demolished ship and started crossing the field they had landed in. A long trail of burnt grass showed their descent from the sky to the ground. "Now how do we get to the capitol?" Harmony asked Rocket in a state of exasperation. She couldn't see the familiar skyline of the Novacore building or the large bridges that crisscrossed over the water below. It was all mountains and fields as far as the eye could see. Courtney was out there dying and Harmony was stuck here with an imbecile raccoon unable to help her!

"Relax, we'll get there," Rocket said.

"No Rocket we won't!" Harmony snapped. "We won't make it in time because we already lost days trying to get through Berhert and we lost days trying to fix the ship and now we lost days because you decided to fly through a jump point that WASN'T EVEN FUNCTIONING!" Rocket stepped back as Harmony's winds carried her scream across the barren land. But the wind sprite was just getting started. "Everything, everything we've done has been undermined by YOU!" She jabbed her finger at Rocket's chest. "We got the medicine from the Sovereign but you just HAD to steal those damn batteries! So they shot down our ship. We can't fix it of course! Then you just HAD to get in a fight with Quill so he'd leave us alone on Berhert! And you just HAD to take me all the way across a HOSTILE PLANET to meet with your long lost booty call to get a ship! Now, oh now, thanks to you not wanting to listen to simple directions we are STRANDED ACROSS THE PLANET AND TOO DAMN LATE TO SAVE MY BEST FRIEND'S LIFE!"

The wind kicked up as Harmony's anger overflowed her. Hunks of grass went soaring through the dark skies and rocks rumbled in their spots. The pod cried out as her winds forced it on its other side. Rocket held onto the ground beneath him as the winds sucked him in to her. A cyclone of dirt, rocks, dust, and metal whirled around the angry elemental as her voice turned to a shriek. Rocket could no longer make out her words but it didn't take a genius to see Harmony was furious. As suddenly as the windstorm began, it ended.

Harmony fell to the rough ground as hot tears ran down her face. She shook and sobbed as her frizzy hair continued blowing in the harsh breezes. Rocket stood a few feet from her, ears back and tail wrapped around him. The wind sprite ignored him as she continued sobbing. Sadness had replaced anger and her powers had vanished. She was already mourning for Courtney.

"You're right Harmony," Rocket said slowly. He paced up to her and settled down on the ground at her face. "This is all my fault. I was reckless and I didn't take this as seriously as you did." He put his paw on her shoulder, expecting her to push him away, but Harmony remained still. Rocket continued, "I lost Groot during a fight with this Kree maniac named Ronan, long story there, but it hurt to lose someone I always had with me. Then, when he came back to me," Rocket patted his pocket where baby Groot was still fast asleep, "I never felt so happy before. I guess I forgot what it felt like to lose him."

Harmony finally looked at him and smiled slightly. "I'm sorry I freaked out on you," she whispered, "I've never been so agitated in my entire life."

"You have every right to be," Rocket consoled her.

"Was Groot seriously in your pocket for all of this?" She asked. Rocket nodded and they both chuckled.

"What can I say, he's a heavy sleeper."

* * *

The two sat like that for a while as the Harmony-generated breeze wound around them. It was almost peaceful in the field. Almost. Then, through the dark clouds above, a ship breached through. Harmony noticed it first and quickly activated her winds but Rocket held out a paw to stop her. The ship was a star shape and bright gold. Novacore.

"Never been so happy ta see the police in my life," Rocket whispered. The ship landed and Denarian Dey stepped out. He did not look happy.

"What have you two gotten into now?" His eyes scanned the charred field and the broken pod.

"Explain on the way to the hospital!" Harmony yelped as she gave Dey a quick hug before bounding onto the ship. Rocket followed behind her as Dey sighed and got on as well.

"You Guardians are going to be the death of me," he growled under his breath.

The ship left the ground and took to the sky in seconds. Harmony tapped her finger incessantly against her leg as Dey piloted them to the capitol. "This thing ain't built for more than two ain't it?" Rocket piped up from Harmony's lap. Dey ignored him. "Great conversationalist ain't he," Rocket remarked under his breath.

Harmony didn't bother to respond to his comment. She was desperately praying to whatever beings were out there that Courtney was still alive when they got there. She had already lost Alexi to Hijinx and his elementals, she couldn't lose Courtney too.

What felt like years later the starship touched ground outside the Novacore hospital wing. Harmony dashed out of the ship and pushed through herds of Novacore officials with her wind. Papers scattered and people jumped out of the way of the elemental. Rocket dashed after her on all fours. They made it to Courtney's room where three doctors were checking her vitals. Their shocked faces turned to relief as Harmony handed them the vial of medicine from the Sovereign. As soon as she saw the golden liquid traveling into Courtney's veins she collapsed in exhaustion on the floor.

* * *

"Hey Harmony."

A weak voice made Harmony open her eyes slightly. The bright overhead lights made her shut them again.

"Harmony I know you're awake," the voice chuckled.

 _Wait I know that voice!_ Harmony shot up off the marble floor of the hospital room to see Courtney sitting up in her bed, a small smile spread across her face.

"Hey girl," Courtney greeted her. Harmony got up and ran over to her best friend, throwing her arms around her.

"I'm so happy you're alive!" Harmony sobbed out. She hadn't even realized that tears were leaking out of her eyes. Courtney didn't say anything but Harmony knew she was crying too.

"I hate ta break up this happy reunion," Rocket's voice startled both girls out of their hug, "but Quill just sent a distress signal, needs our help right away."

"Help? With what?" Harmony asked. "I thought he was chillin with his Dad?"

"Wait his Dad?!" Courtney glanced around. "How long have I been out for?"

"Quite a while," Rocket answered her before turning to Harmony. "Apparently there's been some, issues shall we say. Quill needs us now."

"How are we going to get there?"

Rocket smiled. "I got us a ship."

Harmony shook her head. "I don't want to know how."


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The planet groaned under the weight of Thanos' steps. He moved much like a King does when the end of the war is in sight: strong, powerful, fearless. Of course he no longer had anything to fear from this place. The planet's only worthwhile defenses, a girl with the cosmos for skin and a Centaurian with a yakka arrow, lay dead beneath his feet. They had been no match for his stones, one worth a whole planet to obtain. He had destroyed Xandar a few days earlier to retrieve the Power Stone, and had been quite surprised by the resistance he received. The Novacore were pitiful, but the water wielding sprite by their side he remembered. One of Hijinx's creations. Dead now, the useless thing. But she had given him the incentive to come to find Hijinx, and get back his traitorous daughter.

"Hijinx," Thanos greeted as he stepped into the demolished lab. Behind him stood the Black Order. Hijinx was in front, trying to appear brave, but Thanos could smell his fear.

"Mad Titan," he greeted back. "What brings you so destructively to my planet?"

"My daughter."

At those words Nebula stepped out next to Hijinx. "Hello Father," she came towards him. "What do you want?" Her tone was not that of the obedient child he remembered.

"Daughter, you have betrayed me in the most heinous of ways. You have joined with this, creature, to build monsters that put my plan at risk. That cannot be allowed."

Nebula cocked her head. "We are interfering with nothing. I even gave your Black Order the Reality Stone. They lost it to a couple of teen Terrans." Thanos narrowed his eyes.

"Is this true my children?" He turned to the Black Order behind him. The stones in his gauntlet glowed with his changing emotions. "Did you almost lose my stone?"

Ebony Maw stepped forward. "We did master but as you can see, it was retrieved." Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, and Cull Obsideon stood tensely behind him. Thanos gruffly came up to Maw's face.

"This is the only time I will accept a mistake Maw," he growled. Maw nodded and retreated back into the group. Thanos then returned his attention to Hijinx and Nebula. "Come Nebula, and I might spare you the pain a betrayal like this deserves."

Nebula didn't move. But the people around her did. Electric Storm, Earthquake, and Titanium leapt from their shadowed positions, and came upon Thanos and the Black Order like hungry dogs. Lightning and vines staggered the group while Titanium pulled on the gauntlet with her power. Thanos easily battered away Earthquake's attacks as his tough skin resisted the lightning of Electric Storm. Nebula felt Hijinx grab her arm and start pulling. He knew the attack was useless; he was prepared to leave them to die. As much as Nebula did not want to be back in Thanos' grip, she could not let these girls here. Yes, Electric Storm was a pain, but she didn't deserve to be thrown into a wall by the Power Stone. Earthquake may be overly cautious but she did not deserve the pain of her arm snapping off. And Titanium may have made egregious mistakes, but when Thanos blasted her head clean off her neck Nebula was the first one to scream.

Next was her sister.

Electric Storm ran over to her sister's body and dropped to her knees. She just kept screaming. And crying. And screaming and screaming and screaming. Some of that might have been Nebula but she didn't know for sure. Hijinx kept shaking her shoulders but she did not feel him. All Nebula saw was the body of a girl laying dead at the feet of her sister. And all Nebula could think of was if that was her and Gamora. Would she scream the same way? Some part of her said no, but Nebula already knew what she would do.

"Enough," Thanos kicked Electric Storm away from her sister. The sprite didn't bother to get up. Her heaving chest was all that told Nebula she was still alive. Earthquake lay on the floor with no fight left. The elementals were done.

"Do not kill anymore of my elementals Thanos and we won't bother you anymore," Hijinx didn't even bother to hide the pleading in his words.

Thanos gave a slight nod. "I will do just that boy, because I know what I came to accomplish has been done." He pointed at Nebula. "Come daughter. Now." Nebula did not hesitate this time.

As the Black Order escorted Nebula to their ship Thanos surveyed the lab. There had been seven total elementals. The dead water one on Xandar, the cosmic one by the door, and the metal one beheaded next to him. That left, by his count, the wind one with his daughter Gamora and the three others here. Thanos brushed past Hijinx and the two injured girls; where was the last one?

The door to one of the labs crushed easily under his hand. There, on a table, was the red headed fire sprite he remembered from Sanctuary. She seemed asleep, but Thanos knew better. The Black Order told him of her on Terra. Of the mental torture Ebony Maw had inflicted on her. The memory she did not want to remember. Someone close to her, a brother or her father perhaps, and their appetite for power over her body. A disastrous deed on Terra and another incentive to Thanos to complete his plan. Some creatures simply did not deserve to live. But this was perfect. She was alive, but not. So mentally ruined she would never be, except for the beat of the heart and the rush of blood. She was dead but alive in body. Alive but dead in mind.

"Seven elementals. Three dead. Three alive. One neither," Thanos mumbled to himself as he left the lab behind. "Perfectly balanced. As all things should be."

 _ **The End**_


End file.
